(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an Internet broadcast system.
(2) Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a construction of a conventional Internet broadcast system that obtains video data via the Internet and reproduces the obtained video data.
The conventional Internet broadcast system comprises a video file providing apparatus 101 which is achieved by a Web site and a video receiving/reproducing apparatus 102, which are connected to each other via the Internet 103.
The video file providing apparatus 101 includes the following elements: a video file storing unit 105 for storing a plurality of video files 104; a video data reading unit 106 for reading video data from the video file storing unit 105; a video data transmitting (sending) unit 107 for transmitting the read video data via the Internet 103 to the video receiving/reproducing apparatus 102; and a transfer instruction receiving unit 108 for receiving a transfer instruction to have video data transferred and sending the received transfer instruction to the video data reading unit 106.
The video receiving/reproducing apparatus 102 includes the following elements: a transfer instruction generating unit 109 for generating a transfer instruction to have desired video data transferred; a transfer instruction transmitting unit 110 for transmitting the transfer instruction via the Internet 103 to the video file providing apparatus 101; a video data receiving unit 111 for receiving video data that is sent from the video file providing apparatus 101; and a video data reproducing unit 112 for reproducing and outputting the received video data.
With reference to FIG. 1 a procedure will now be described that is taken when a viewer watches video.
The viewer first specifies video data he wishes to watch by selecting a name of the video data from a menu which is displayed on a screen or the like. The transfer instruction generating unit 109 then generates, for the specified video data, a transfer instruction that is directed to the video file providing apparatus 101, which includes the video file storing unit 105 storing a video file that is identified by the selected name of the video data.
The transfer instruction transmitting unit 110 transmits the generated transfer instruction via the Internet 103 to the video file providing apparatus 101.
The transfer instruction receiving unit 108 receives this transfer instruction, and sends the transfer instruction to the video data reading unit 106. This transfer instruction contains a video file name, which identifies a name of the specified video data, and an address of the video receiving/reproducing apparatus 102 from which the transfer instruction has been sent.
In accordance with the transfer instruction that is sent from the transfer instruction receiving unit 108, the video data reading unit 106 reads video data from a video file, which is specified by the video file name that is written in the transfer instruction and stored in the video file storing unit 105. The video data reading unit 106 then sends the read video data and the address of the video receiving/reproducing apparatus 102 to the video data transmitting unit 107.
Following this, the video data transmitting unit 107 transmits the video data that is directed to the video receiving/reproducing apparatus 102 via the Internet 103.
The video data receiving unit 111 in the video receiving/reproducing apparatus 102 receives the transmitted video data, and sends the received video data to the video data reproducing unit 112.
The video data reproducing unit 112 reproduces and outputs the sent video data.
As a result, the viewer can watch all of the video data stored in the video file which is identified by the selected name in the video file providing apparatus 101.
When video data in each of the video files 104 is composed of two sets of sectional video data that are joined in sequence, for instance, “video data 1 ” and “video data 2”, the viewer watches video images that change from “sectional video data 1” to “sectional video data 2” as such images are reproduced by the video data reproducing unit 112.
If the viewer wishes to watch video images that make a reverse change from “sectional video data 2” to “sectional video data 1”, however, the viewer first has to record the above-described video data that is outputted by the video data reproducing unit 112, and then clip and edit the two sets of sectional video data. Alternatively, it is necessary to have the video file storing unit 105 additionally store a video file storing video data in which “sectional video data 2” and “sectional video data 1 ” are arranged consecutively in this order.
The above editing, however, is not a realistic approach to obtain such video data since it requires an editing device and is also time-consuming for the viewer. Having the video file providing apparatus 101 additionally store video files is also not realistic in view of the fact that a single video file requires a large-capacity memory.